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Updated: Apr 18, 2026
3D-Neuronavigation In Vivo Through a Patient's Brain During a Spontaneous Migraine Headache
Published on: June 2, 2014
Altered neurochemical coupling in the occipital cortex in migraine with visual aura
Holly Bridge1, Charlotte J Stagg2, Jamie Near3
1Nuffield Department of Clinical Neuroscience, University of Oxford, UK Oxford Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain (FMRIB), University of Oxford, UK holly.bridge@ndcn.ox.ac.uk zameel.cader@ndcn.ox.ac.uk.
Background:
Visual aura is present in about one-third of migraine patients and triggering by bright or flickering lights is frequently reported.
Method:
Using migraine with visual aura patients, we investigated the neurochemical profile of the visual cortex using magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Specifically, glutamate/creatine and GABA/creatine ratios were quantified in the occipital cortex of female migraine patients.
Results:
GABA levels in the occipital cortex of migraine patients were lower than that of controls. Glutamate levels in migraine patients, but not controls, correlated with the blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) signal in the primary visual cortex during visual stimulation.
Conclusion:
Migraine with visual aura appears to disrupt the excitation-inhibition coupling in the occipital cortex.
